Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Waterstones sacks an employee for keeping a blog

Boo hiss evil bookselling bastards

Waterstones have sacked an employee for writing a blog. Presumably they thought his comments might reflect badly on them. Not anything like as badly as the effect of being seen to be against freedom of speech and expression. Boycott Waterstones for being absolute bastards

Wrote Gordon: 'I am not a serf; I am not an indentured servant. I am a free man with the right of freedom of expression. The company does not own me, body and soul - conforming to their rules at work is to be expected, but in your own time and space? How can anyone be expected to go through their personal life in fear of saying the wrong thing? No-one should.
'This has left me dreadfully upset. That a company I have given so many years to could treat me in such a brutal manner is despicable. That a book company thinks so little of the primacy of freedom of expression is alarming. I pointed out that Waterstone's has stated publicly several times in the past that as a bookseller they believe in the freedom of expression and not in censorship.'

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